Comedian Bill Cosby is not laughing at Internet rumors saying he’s dead and wants them to stop.
The rumors circulated after his supposed death was a “trending” topic August 2 on the social networking site Twitter. He tweeted his frustrations and also called CNN’s “Larry King Live” and expressed his disdain.
“I don’t want this person, or whatever, I don’t want them to do this anymore,” he told Kyra Phillips, who was filling in for King as host. “It’s no longer fun.”
The incident marks the fourth death hoax that has targeted Cosby; the last one occurred in February. While he had spoken out about the rumors in the past, he said this time was different.
“I just want to say to friends of that person: Just tell him to stop, because it isn’t funny,” Cosby said on the show, addressing friends of the originator of the hoax. “People are not amused by this.”
The 73-year-old Cosby said his daughter called his house and told him that people were calling her asking if the rumors were true.
Cosby is among many celebrities that have been victimized by Internet death hoaxes. According to Fox News, rumors of talk show icon Oprah Winfrey’s death surfaced on the Internet in 2009, as claims circulated that Winfrey was found dead in her Chicago home.
Comedian Sinbad was also the victim of a death hoax in 2007 when someone altered his Wikipedia page to make it seem like he had died of a heart attack.
Some death rumors have even made breaking news. According to Philadelphia’s My Fox, CNN and Fox News both issued premature reports of the passing of Pope John Paul II.